DESCRIPTION: Eating disorders especially binge eating are prevalent in obese and non-obese American women. Previous studies have suggested that the temporal pattern of eating has a significant impact on insulin metabolism in that more frequent small meals rapidly result in lower mean insulin levles as opposed to the customary three meals per day. There are strikingly common elements in women who have binge eating disorders and women who have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) namely that both may have disordered insulin metabolism, increased ovarian androgen secretion, and oligomenorrhea. Because a primary genetic defect has been found only in a subset of PCOS individuals, the proposed studies will attempt to establish a binge-eating hyperinsulinemia experimental model to assess the effects of insulin on gonadotropin secretory dynamics, ovarian androgen responsiveness to gonadotropins, and altered lipid levels.